TABLE OF CONTENT TABLE OF CONTENT 2 CONTENT 4 I. Introduction 4 1.1. Abstract 4 1.2. Research background, research questions and objectives 4 II. Understanding about sharing economy 5 2.1. The concept of sharing economy 5 2.2. The system of sharing economy 7 2.3. The driving forces behind sharing economy 9 2.4. The impact of the sharing economy on global trade and economics. 11 III. Opportunities and challenges of sharing economy in Vietnam 15 3.1. Overview of Vietnams current sharing economy scenario 15 3.2. Implications of sharing economy in Vietnam 24 IV. Conclusions and recommendations for further research 32 REFERENCES 35 2 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1. Redistribution markets (Botsman 2010) 7 Figure 2. Product service systems (Botsman 2010) 8 Figure 3. Collaborative lifestyle (Botsman 2010) 8 Figure 4. The percentage of people who use the internet from 2006 to 2014 10 Figure 5. Smartphone users and penetration worldwide (eMarketer 2014) 10 Figure 6. Vinasun Data (Unit: Billion VND) 12 Figure 7. Vietnam’s Political Map (Britannica.com) 17 Figure 8. Key figures of Vietnam (General Statistics Office 2020; IMF 2020) 18 Figure 9. Households with computers per 100 households 20 Figure 10. Number of mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants 21 Figure 11. Internet users per 100 inhabitants 21 3 CONTENT I. Introduction 1.1. Abstract For about five years recently, sharing economy has drawn increasing attention from researchers and business people worldwide. The rapid growth of this sector derives from the incredible rise of technology in the 4.0 industrial revolution. Vietnam as well as other developing countries are considered an ideal environment for this model to develop. As a result, there have been many new global companies investing and operating in Vietnam as a form of sharing economy such as Uber, Grab, Foody, Agoda, Facebook, Google,.. However, this new kind of business has also created many new challenges for policy and legal makers of Vietnam as well as the administration and management of the government. The government must have issued new legal documents to guide the operation and activities of sharing economy enterprises. This paper will analyze the nature, characters and impacts of sharing economy in Vietnam. It also mentions the problems and since then, the study further recommends some possible policies to manage activities of sharing economy companies. Key words: sharing economy; benefit; challenge; impactions; Vietnam; policy 1.2. Research background, research questions and objectives 1.2.1. Research background Almost 20 years after the World Wide Web was introduced, it is difficult to imagine the world without it. The evolution of concepts such as the economy has been on a constant pace since the 1970s. As a result, new terms such as the sharing economy, the digital economy, and collaborative consumption have been coined to describe the changes in society. The sharing economy, for instance, was widely believed to have started during the financial crisis of 2008. Due to its relative novelty, the concept has garnered a lot of attention. However, its fast changing nature and lack of transparency have also caused it to be subject to much debate. The sharing economy has disrupted various industries, most significantly in the 4 accommodation industry (Airbnb), shared mobility (Grab, Uber), financial services (Sachmann and Alt), and logistics (Puschmann and Alt 2016). Also, it has been able to expand and globalize at an astonishing rate due to its assetlite model. 1.2.2. Research questions and objectives Considering the discussed gap in literature, this paper aims to investigate what driveforces lead to the emergence of sharing economy enterprises in Vietnam and how Vietnamese government policies have made an influence on it. Hence, we ask the research question: What are the opportunities and challenges of the emergence of the global sharing economy enterprises in Vietnam? To answer the research question, we engaged in both quantitative and qualitative methods. Thus, while this research can provide valuable insights on operations, study of the nonobservable elements on consumer behaviors, such as attitude and motives, can offer additional insights into factors influencing the observable behavior, and thus help validating quantitative models. This researchinprogress paper is structured as follows. Section 2 provides an overview of the sharing economy and related literature. Section 3 presents the opportunities and challenges of sharing economy in Vietnam. Finally, section 4 presents the preliminary discussion and recommends feasible solutions so that we can effectively take advantage of this economic model. II. Understanding about sharing economy 2.1. The concept of sharing economy For decades, communities of people have shared the use of assets, but the Internet and its development of big data has made it simpler for asset owners and those wishing to utilize those assets to reach one other. This is also known as the sharing economy, collaborative economy, collaborative economy, or peer economy, which refers to a hybrid market model of peertopeer trading (in between ownership and giftgiving). The sharing economy is an umbrella terminology with a variety of meanings that is frequently used to represent economic and social activities including internet 5 transactions. As a result, the phrase sharing economy has been criticized as deceptive, with some claiming that even systems that facilitate peertopeer trading might be predominantly profitdriven. Many critics, however, argue that the word is still legitimate as a way of expressing a more democratized economy, even when applied to a larger range of services. According to Belk (2007), sharing is the act and process of distributing what is ours to others for their use andor the act and process of getting or taking something from others for our use. There are two sorts of sharing that we may see in our daily lives: ‘sharing in’ and sharing out’. Sharing in refers to the act of sharing made out of compassion or civility towards other people, or the act of sharing that occurs mostly amongst close individuals such as family and friends (Belk 1988 Belk 2013). According to Belk (2014), the idea of sharing out refers to the act of splitting something among strangers, whether it be space, products, expertise, or jobs. It does not happen regularly, and it is most likely a onetime occurrence. Sharing can also entail lending or borrowing, which results in the creation of debts or bonds. When someone lends anything out, they expect the object or something of equal value to be repaid by the borrower. Sharing can also apply to giftgiving, which is the transfer of ownership of an object, and marketplace trading, often known as a reciprocal exchange (Belk, 2014). The sharing economy may take many forms, including the use of information technology to supply individuals with knowledge that enables resource optimization through the mutualization of spare capacity in commodities and services. Individuals and groups can profit from unused assets by participating in sharing economies. Idle assets, such as parked automobiles and spare beds, can be rented out in a sharing economy while not in use. Physical assets are thus shared as services in this manner. A frequent idea is that when information about commodities is shared (often through an online marketplace), the value of those items may improve for the business, individuals, the community, and society as a whole. Sharing economy, in other words, can be called collaborative consumption. According to Belk, collaborative consumption entails people coordinating the purchase and sharing of a resource for a price or other nonmonetary compensation. Compensation in this case may be anything of equal worth. Sharing a vehicle seat, a place in an apartment, a meal, or the exchange of products are all examples of this. Many 6 internet sharing services or social networks, such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and others, are not considered collaborative consumption. These platforms also provide peertopeer services; but, because there is no money involved, they do not embody the notion of collaborative consumption. Because it is a permanent transfer of ownership, the notion of collaborative consuming also removes the scenario of giftgiving. (Belk, 2014). As a result, the notion of collaborative consumption is a subset of the sharing concept discussed above. It is a form of payment for sharing. Belk (2014) refers to it as “pseudosharing,” arguing that the sharing label is used to acts that are actually “shortterm rental activities”, such as ridesharing or accommodationsharing. 2.2. The system of sharing economy According to Botsman and Rogers (2010), the sharing economy is categorized into three systems: product services systems, redistribution markets, and collaborative lifestyles. 2.2.1. Redistribution markets The redistribution market system is built on used or preowned items being passed on from one person who does not want them to another person who does. Instead of being thrown, preowned items might be reallocated to where they are needed. They can be traded for money, virtual points for future purchases, or other things of the same sort of value. When opposed to the old buy more and buy new theories, one evident advantage of redistribution markets is that it encourages the reuse and resale of items while maximizing capacity and reducing inefficiency and waste. (Botsman Rogers 2010). Redistribution markets, according to Botsman and Rogers (2010), might be the fifth R in the sequence – reduce, recycle, reuse, repair, and now, redistribute. Figure 1. Redistribution markets (Botsman 2010) 7 2.2.2. Product service systems Productservice systems (PSS) are business concepts that enable the delivery of products and services in tandem. PSS models are emerging as a way to promote collaborative consumption of both products and services with the goal of achieving proenvironmental results. The figure below depicts the concepts behind productservice systems. Instead of each car giving benefits to a single person, each vehicle may now provide utility to several people, eliminating waste and pollution (Botsman 2010). This strategy allows consumers to have access to the value that the items provide without having to possess them. It is especially beneficial when it comes to items with high idle capacity, such as vehicles, CDs, DVDs, and so on, in terms of extending their life and capacity. The schemes also benefit users by releasing them of the duty and weight of owning, say, a car – the purchase of the car, repairing expenses, insurance, maintenance, road taxes, and so on – allowing them to make the most out of what they own. (Botsman Rogers 2010) Figure 2. Product service systems (Botsman 2010) 2.2.3. Collaborative lifestyles Figure 3. Collaborative lifestyle (Botsman 2010) 8 Collaborative lifestyles are communitybased platforms that enable users to participate in monetized transactions for services or accessibility to resources such as capital or skills via social peertopeer systems. People with comparable wants or interests come together to mutualize and exchange not just physical items, but also intangible goods such as time, working space, interests, and so on in these systems. Firms that provide these services can also exist on a worldwide scale, with consumers engaging in peertopeer financing on the offending clubs and peertopeer travel on Airbnb, I Like Local, and so on (Botsman Rogers 2010.) The advancement of mobile technology provides a foundation for enabling locationbased GPS technology as well as realtime sharing. Since sharing involves interpersonal interactions rather than merely exchanging things and property, this system of collaborative consumption necessitates a higher and stronger feeling of trust and connectivity. 2.3. The driving forces behind sharing economy The sharing economy is driven by three market forces: societal, economic, and technological drivers (Owyang 2013). This section will discuss these driving forces in detail. 2.3.1. Economic driving forces The rapid development of advanced technology has fueled the growth of the sharing economy. Companies have been using technology to create platforms for people to connect with each other and facilitate transactions worldwide in a seemingly effortless way. (Finley 2013.) Owyang (2013) found out in his research that 27 out of the most successful sharing companies are using online payment systems. Furthermore, there is an increasing percentage of the world’s population who now have access to high technology (internet.org 2014). The following figure shows the percentage of the global population that is connected to the internet over years worldwide.
FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS _ MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS THE EMERGENCE OF THE GLOBAL SHARING ECONOMY ENTERPRISES IN VIETNAM: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES TABLE OF CONTENT TABLE OF CONTENT CONTENT I Introduction 1.1 Abstract 1.2 Research background, research questions and objectives II Understanding about sharing economy 2.1 The concept of sharing economy 2.2 The system of sharing economy 2.3 The driving forces behind sharing economy 2.4 The impact of the sharing economy on global trade and economics 11 III Opportunities and challenges of sharing economy in Vietnam 15 3.1 Overview of Vietnam's current sharing economy scenario .15 3.2 Implications of sharing economy in Vietnam 24 IV Conclusions and recommendations for further research 32 REFERENCES 35 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure Redistribution markets (Botsman 2010) Figure Product service systems (Botsman 2010) Figure Collaborative lifestyle (Botsman 2010) Figure The percentage of people who use the internet from 2006 to 2014 10 Figure Smartphone users and penetration worldwide (eMarketer 2014) 10 Figure Vinasun Data (Unit: Billion VND) 12 Figure Vietnam’s Political Map (Britannica.com) 17 Figure Key figures of Vietnam (General Statistics Office 2020; IMF 2020) 18 Figure Households with computers per 100 households 20 Figure 10 Number of mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants .21 Figure 11 Internet users per 100 inhabitants 21 CONTENT I Introduction 1.1 Abstract For about five years recently, sharing economy has drawn increasing attention from researchers and business people worldwide The rapid growth of this sector derives from the incredible rise of technology in the 4.0 industrial revolution Vietnam as well as other developing countries are considered an ideal environment for this model to develop As a result, there have been many new global companies investing and operating in Vietnam as a form of sharing economy such as Uber, Grab, Foody, Agoda, Facebook, Google, However, this new kind of business has also created many new challenges for policy and legal makers of Vietnam as well as the administration and management of the government The government must have issued new legal documents to guide the operation and activities of sharing economy enterprises This paper will analyze the nature, characters and impacts of sharing economy in Vietnam It also mentions the problems and since then, the study further recommends some possible policies to manage activities of sharing - economy companies Key words: sharing economy; benefit; challenge; impactions; Vietnam; policy 1.2 Research background, research questions and objectives 1.2.1 Research background Almost 20 years after the World Wide Web was introduced, it is difficult to imagine the world without it The evolution of concepts such as the economy has been on a constant pace since the 1970s As a result, new terms such as the sharing economy, the digital economy, and collaborative consumption have been coined to describe the changes in society The sharing economy, for instance, was widely believed to have started during the financial crisis of 2008 Due to its relative novelty, the concept has garnered a lot of attention However, its fast changing nature and lack of transparency have also caused it to be subject to much debate The sharing economy has disrupted various industries, most significantly in the accommodation industry (Airbnb), shared mobility (Grab, Uber), financial services (Sachmann and Alt), and logistics (Puschmann and Alt 2016) Also, it has been able to expand and globalize at an astonishing rate due to its asset-lite model 1.2.2 Research questions and objectives Considering the discussed gap in literature, this paper aims to investigate what driveforces lead to the emergence of sharing economy enterprises in Vietnam and how Vietnamese government policies have made an influence on it Hence, we ask the research question: What are the opportunities and challenges of the emergence of the global sharing economy enterprises in Vietnam? To answer the research question, we engaged in both quantitative and qualitative methods Thus, while this research can provide valuable insights on operations, study of the non-observable elements on consumer behaviors, such as attitude and motives, can offer additional insights into factors influencing the observable behavior, and thus help validating quantitative models This research-in-progress paper is structured as follows Section provides an overview of the sharing economy and related literature Section presents the opportunities and challenges of sharing economy in Vietnam Finally, section presents the preliminary discussion and recommends feasible solutions so that we can effectively take advantage of this economic model II Understanding about sharing economy 2.1 The concept of sharing economy For decades, communities of people have shared the use of assets, but the Internet - and its development of big data - has made it simpler for asset owners and those wishing to utilize those assets to reach one other This is also known as the sharing economy, collaborative economy, collaborative economy, or peer economy, which refers to a hybrid market model of peer-to-peer trading (in between ownership and gift-giving) The sharing economy is an umbrella terminology with a variety of meanings that is frequently used to represent economic and social activities including internet transactions As a result, the phrase "sharing economy" has been criticized as deceptive, with some claiming that even systems that facilitate peer-to-peer trading might be predominantly profit-driven Many critics, however, argue that the word is still legitimate as a way of expressing a more democratized economy, even when applied to a larger range of services According to Belk (2007), sharing is "the act and process of distributing what is ours to others for their use and/or the act and process of getting or taking something from others for our use." There are two sorts of sharing that we may see in our daily lives: ‘sharing in’ and 'sharing out’ 'Sharing in' refers to the act of sharing made out of compassion or civility towards other people, or the act of sharing that occurs mostly amongst close individuals such as family and friends (Belk 1988 & Belk 2013) According to Belk (2014), the idea of 'sharing out' refers to the act of splitting something among strangers, whether it be space, products, expertise, or jobs It does not happen regularly, and it is most likely a one-time occurrence Sharing can also entail lending or borrowing, which results in the creation of 'debts' or 'bonds.' When someone lends anything out, they expect the object or something of equal value to be repaid by the borrower Sharing can also apply to gift-giving, which is the transfer of ownership of an object, and marketplace trading, often known as a reciprocal exchange (Belk, 2014) The sharing economy may take many forms, including the use of information technology to supply individuals with knowledge that enables resource optimization through the mutualization of spare capacity in commodities and services Individuals and groups can profit from unused assets by participating in sharing economies Idle assets, such as parked automobiles and spare beds, can be rented out in a sharing economy while not in use Physical assets are thus shared as services in this manner A frequent idea is that when information about commodities is shared (often through an online marketplace), the value of those items may improve for the business, individuals, the community, and society as a whole Sharing economy, in other words, can be called collaborative consumption According to Belk, collaborative consumption entails people coordinating the purchase and sharing of a resource for a price or other non-monetary compensation Compensation in this case may be anything of equal worth Sharing a vehicle seat, a place in an apartment, a meal, or the exchange of products are all examples of this Many internet sharing services or social networks, such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and others, are not considered collaborative consumption These platforms also provide peer-to-peer services; but, because there is no money involved, they not embody the notion of collaborative consumption Because it is a 'permanent transfer of ownership,' the notion of collaborative consuming also removes the scenario of giftgiving (Belk, 2014) As a result, the notion of collaborative consumption is a subset of the sharing concept discussed above It is a form of payment for sharing Belk (2014) refers to it as “pseudo-sharing,” arguing that the 'sharing' label is used to acts that are actually “short-term rental activities”, such as ride-sharing or accommodation-sharing 2.2 The system of sharing economy According to Botsman and Rogers (2010), the sharing economy is categorized into three systems: product services systems, redistribution markets, and collaborative lifestyles 2.2.1 Redistribution markets The redistribution market system is built on used or pre-owned items being passed on from one person who does not want them to another person who does Instead of being thrown, pre-owned items might be reallocated to where they are needed They can be traded for money, virtual points for future purchases, or other things of the same sort of value When opposed to the old "buy more" and "buy new" theories, one evident advantage of redistribution markets is that it encourages the reuse and resale of items while maximizing capacity and reducing inefficiency and waste (Botsman & Rogers 2010) Redistribution markets, according to Botsman and Rogers (2010), might be the fifth R in the sequence – reduce, recycle, reuse, repair, and now, redistribute Figure Redistribution markets (Botsman 2010) 2.2.2 Product service systems Product-service systems (PSS) are business concepts that enable the delivery of products and services in tandem PSS models are emerging as a way to promote collaborative consumption of both products and services with the goal of achieving pro-environmental results The figure below depicts the concepts behind product-service systems Instead of each car giving benefits to a single person, each vehicle may now provide utility to several people, eliminating waste and pollution (Botsman 2010) This strategy allows consumers to have access to the value that the items provide without having to possess them It is especially beneficial when it comes to items with high idle capacity, such as vehicles, CDs, DVDs, and so on, in terms of extending their life and capacity The schemes also benefit users by releasing them of the duty and weight of owning, say, a car – the purchase of the car, repairing expenses, insurance, maintenance, road taxes, and so on – allowing them to make the most out of what they own (Botsman & Rogers 2010) Figure Product service systems (Botsman 2010) 2.2.3 Collaborative lifestyles Figure Collaborative lifestyle (Botsman 2010) Collaborative lifestyles are community-based platforms that enable users to participate in monetized transactions for services or accessibility to resources such as capital or skills via social peer-to-peer systems People with comparable wants or interests come together to mutualize and exchange not just physical items, but also intangible goods such as time, working space, interests, and so on in these systems Firms that provide these services can also exist on a worldwide scale, with consumers engaging in peer-to-peer financing on the offending clubs and peer-to-peer travel on Airbnb, I Like Local, and so on (Botsman & Rogers 2010.) The advancement of mobile technology provides a foundation for enabling location-based GPS technology as well as real-time sharing Since sharing involves interpersonal interactions rather than merely exchanging things and property, this system of collaborative consumption necessitates a higher and stronger feeling of trust and connectivity 2.3 The driving forces behind sharing economy The sharing economy is driven by three market forces: societal, economic, and technological drivers (Owyang 2013) This section will discuss these driving forces in detail 2.3.1 Economic driving forces The rapid development of advanced technology has fueled the growth of the sharing economy Companies have been using technology to create platforms for people to connect with each other and facilitate transactions worldwide in a seemingly effortless way (Finley 2013.) Owyang (2013) found out in his research that 27 out of the most successful sharing companies are using online payment systems Furthermore, there is an increasing percentage of the world’s population who now have access to high technology (internet.org 2014) The following figure shows the percentage of the global population that is connected to the internet over years worldwide Figure The percentage of people who use the internet from 2006 to 2014 According to the graph above, almost 40% of the world population is now connected to the internet This figure is 76,2% in developed countries and 29,8% in developing countries In addition, the number of smartphone users has been growing steadily over the years In 2014, around 1,31 billion people own a smartphone and this number is predicted to go up to 1,64 billion in 2015 and finally reach up to one-third of the world’s population in 2018 (internet.org 2014.) The following figure presents the number of smartphone users and penetration from 2013 to 2018 (estimated) The amount of smartphone users has been and is estimated to increase steadily over time Figure Smartphone users and penetration worldwide (eMarketer 2014) Social networks have enabled people to connect freely and communicate directly, changing the way we behave, making us more willing to share our lives to others and at the same time, more tolerant towards others’ stories When people become used to sharing online, there is a likelihood that they will feel more comfortable with sharing in the offline world (Jain 2013)